Stevens played some football for the Collingwood Under-19s but his initial AFL ambitions were thwarted by a knee injury and having to have heart surgery.
A left footer, he was used mostly on the wing by Sydney and didn't miss a single game in 1998.
[3] In an interview on Melbourne sports radio station: 1116 SEN, Stevens went into details about his tachycardia; explaining that his condition was made known when a coach confronted him for laziness as result to his lack of second efforts.
Throughout his career (some accounts suggest Steven had heart surgery before joining Sydney), after a burst of activity, Stevens would double over and breathe heavily in an attempt to consciously bring his heart rate down to regular levels from as high as 350 beats per minute.
Ignoring medical advice to discontinue his career, he played senior AFL with his condition until 2001.